Undaunted
by Chikanpo
Summary: In which Corrin is excited but nervous about leaving the northern fortress, and Leo is there to talk through her fears and cheer her up since neither of them can sleep. Slipped in to being a bit (maybe a lot?) incest-y at the end, whoops.


**A/N: A thing I wrote a while ago. Found it and fixed it up. Lemme know if you like it. This website is bad at formatting :/**

* * *

"Geez I can never understand the things you do. If there's nothing to discuss, I'm leaving."

Bright orange light shone through the window, casting strong shadows of the people between it and the wall. They were inside one of the higher rooms at the Northern Fortress, Corrin's own chambers. Leo stood and his shadow expanded to cover most of the wall.

Before reaching the door, he was stopped by a hand on his elbow. Leo turned to look at the disruption and saw his older sister grabbing his arm.

"Wait! I'm sorry," she paused for a moment. "I'm just worried about what's going to happen from now on. I was hoping maybe… Maybe you could stay for a little while? You've always been good at keeping my worries at bay." The concerned look on her face was adorable, but saddening; it was completely justified.

Tomorrow, they'd be leaving the Northern Fortress for good. Corrin would finally be leaving the place she'd been trapped in all her life. She'd be leaving the place that has prevented her from visiting places she wants to see. She'd be leaving the place that has sheltered her from the terrible things Leo and the rest of their family have had to do. No doubt she should be excited to finally be "free", but though she may be sheltered, she isn't stupid. She's seen how upset her siblings have been over things they've done. She must be aware that not everything outside the fortress is exciting and wonderful. It made sense for her to be scared.

"Isn't Camilla more suited to that sort of thing? She's much more… affectionate than I am." Leo raised an eyebrow at her. "She'll be better at comforting you." It was unusual for Corrin to seek him for such reasons; Camilla was the family's go-to comfort blanket.

"No," Corrin shook her head. "She'll soothe me and try to take my mind off it. She'll talk about how great everything will be. I want to know what it's really going to be like, the good and the bad."

"Ah…" Leo turned away from the door. "I suppose I am the best choice then. Are you sure about this? I don't want to frighten you more than you already have been, sister. At least the others would be able to keep you cheerful about this, but I'm not sure I can. I like being here better than being at the castle myself…"

Corrin's eyes widened in surprise. This lonely, solitary fortress, better than the royal castle and all the freedom it must come with? Either her brother was a complete loner (which she supposed he sort of was) or the royal castle had downsides she couldn't imagine. Either way it sounded like he was the perfect person to give a completely honest description of the place.

"That's even better," was her eventual response.

"Well, if you're sure…" he gestured towards her bed and led her to sit down. Looking out the window, Leo could tell the sun was almost set. With a snap of a tome on his belt and a swish of his arm, he lit all the candles in Corrin's room. Satisfied it wouldn't get too dark on them, he sat down next to his sister. "What would you like to know?" Corrin thought for a moment.

"Let's start with you guys. Where do you stay? You must get to see each other all the time, right?" She trailed off in thought, smiling. Leo smiled sadly.

"Your first disappointment then. We hardly see each other, all of us together. The most time we get to spend as a family is here at this fortress. The rest of the time one of us, usually more, are off on missions given by father. We honestly spend more time with our retainers than each other." Corrin's smile dropped to a frown and her eyebrows furrowed.

"…what?"

"It's true. At the castle, working is the most important thing. Keep father happy, and you get to stay happy. It's why coming to visit you is such a blessing. We're free from most of our responsibility while we're here. We get to spend time with you and each other, doing things we enjoy."

"You're right…" Corrin mumbled. A long moment passed. Just as Leo was about to boast about always being right but question which part she meant, she continued: "That is disappointing." Her hands clenched the bed sheets, and Leo could tell her knuckles were whitening. His gaze travelled up to her face, where he was only slightly surprised to see tears forming in her eyes. He shook his head and inhaled sharply.

"I apologize… Was that too honest?"

"I needed to know. Better than expecting different and being disappointed later. I'd rather hear it from you."

"Very well. Is there anything else you wish to know?"

"Yes. I want to know everything."

* * *

"I hope all of this isn't too worrying for you. It's really not as bad as it sounds. You do have freedom when you aren't out on missions, and you can spend time with anyone else who is home. But I'm sure it also isn't what you expected, is it?" Leo ended his explanation with words of encouragement. He didn't want her regretting the chance to finally be free of her current prison. He just hoped she wouldn't find the castle to be much the same.

Corrin, who had scooted closer and began to lean on his shoulder during his explanations, sat up straight and looked at him.

"It certainly isn't. This is going to be hard on you as well, isn't it? You won't have the excuse of visiting me to be able to relax anymore. You'll be stuck at the-"

"Visiting you was never an excuse."

Corrin was surprised by the sharpness in his tone. Leo's eyes were wide and the way he stared at her made him appear… worried?

"If I made it sound that way, that wasn't my intention. Visiting you was never an excuse to get away from the castle, that was just a nice bonus. I've always looked forward to these visits. Seeing you is the only-" he cut himself off, looking down at his legs. One of Corrin's hands came into his vision and rested on his knee.

"Leo, it's okay. I didn't take it that way. I just worry you won't have something like that to look forward to anymore."

"I will though. I'll get to see you a lot more often than I ever have while you've lived here…" he trailed off. His cheeks darkened a little after he realized what he said, and he pointedly turned away from her, staring at the door. He heard a telling giggle from Corrin, and he knew what was coming. He would swear to anyone that all of his sisters had the same _I'm going to hug you now_ giggle.

True to his thoughts, Corrin leaned over and wrapped her arms right around him.

"You're so cute Leo," she giggled again, tightening her grip. Leo stubbornly continued to stare at the door and sighed.

"Camilla is rubbing off on you isn't she."

"Maybe a little. Is that so bad?"

"…no. I guess not."

Still staring at the door, Leo couldn't see the window. He could deduce from the light level in the room that the sun had completely set. They would be leaving the fortress first thing in the morning. Corrin for the first (well, technically second) time since she'd been brought there. As excited as Leo was for her, he still worried about bringing her to such an unhappy place. She deserved somewhere she could be herself and be happy; Castle Krakenburg was not that place.

"You don't let me do this very often." Abruptly, Leo realized Corrin was still hanging on to him, and she had a point. Normally he would pull away from any sort of affection pretty quickly, this was different though. He may not be the best at it, but Corrin still needed some sort of comfort before going to the castle after that conversation, so he'd let her hug him if only for a little while longer. He finally broke his gaze from the door (it was safe, his blush was gone) and looked at her.

"I think you needed it," he smiled at her. The warm light of the candles reflected off her red eyes, making them glow. The tears that were built up had gone and she was smiling. The two little fires were covered up by eyelids before she pushed her face into his neck and hugged him tighter.

"H-hey now, don't push your luck!" Leo went stock still. The fires in the room began to feel suffocating and hot. The 5 little candles and half-full fireplace suddenly seemed like overkill for keeping the room warm.

"Thank you, Leo." Her words were lost on him, as he was too busy trying to figure out how to get her off when he felt her lips moving against his neck.

"I-I know your little brother is cute, but stop it!" he exclaimed, voice sounding hoarse. Finally, to his relief, she pulled her head back. She giggled.

"You said it this time."

Leo didn't have a retort for that. After realizing his mouth had opened without his permission, he shut it and turned his gaze back to the door. She was still hugging him. He could feel her gaze boring into the back of his head.

"D-Don't stare at me."

"Can't help it. You're just too cute." Even though he couldn't see it, he could practically feel her grin. He groaned.

"All right come here," Leo grumbled as he turned his body to face her. He reached out and pulled her towards him, resting his chin on her head. "If I hug you back, then will you let me go?" Of course, she shook her head no. He rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. At least she couldn't see his red face this way.

"Thank you…" Her voice was so quiet Leo wouldn't have heard were his head not directly on top of hers. "I'm scared. About leaving the fortress. But I think I'm ready now, and after what you've told me I'm sure I won't be completely lonely. I'll get to see you -all of you- a lot more now after all. I'm sorry if I've taken up most of your last "vacation" night, but I really appreciate you being here." Leo sighed and buried his nose in her hair, right below her headband.

"Don't be stupid… I'm happy to help."

The two sat in silence for a while. Corrin tried to hide her tears, and did an exceptional job of it, but Leo was always very observant. He pretended he didn't notice as he began to speak again.

"Don't worry sister. I will do everything in my power to make sure your life at the castle with us is a good one. If you need to know anything at all, you can come to me if I am there. If I'm not, I'll always make sure there's someone around you can go to. If something bad happens, if someone is horrible to you, I will make them pay. Leaving the fortress will be worth it sister, I promise I will make it so."

Her silent sobs turned into choked laughter.

"Now you sound like Camilla," she laughed. "_'I'll make them pay!'_" she mimicked him. He just smiled softly.

"Is that so bad?"

"Not at all. I love all of you so much!" she exclaimed before squeezing him so tightly he thought he might suffocate if she held on too long.

"And it won't be just me. Xander, Camilla, Elise, all of us will be looking out for you Corrin. This will be a good thing, I swear," he spoke through the crushing hug, impressing himself with how normal he sounded. There were still sobs mixed in with her laughter. His hand, with a mind of its own, found its way up to the back of her head and began playing with her hair. This must have soothed her, as she began to quiet down after a moment. His fingers found their way to her headband and he playfully snatched it off.

"Hey!" Corrin immediately pulled back and reached for it, but he lifted it just out of her reach. Dried tears left a trail down her cheeks, but she was smiling. The hand not holding her headband came up and cupped her cheek, thumb rubbing the trails away. She stopped fighting for the headband and looked back at him, smile dropping to a more neutral face. He sighed and returned her headband to its rightful place before dropping his hands to his lap.

"I hope I've managed to ease your worries a bit. I know it's not going to be what you expected, and I'm sorry about that, but I'm sure everything will be okay."

"Don't apologize; you did exactly as I asked. I was right about one thing though."

"And what was that?"

"You told me what the castle is really like, the good and bad. You also cheered me up when I got sad about the bad parts. You're always the best person to go to for knowledge and advice you know?" Corrin smiled at him.

"Well of course I am." Leo coughed into his hand. "I'm glad I was able to help. If you ever need me, for any reason, just call for me."

"You're the best, Leo."

"I know."

Corrin giggled and lay back on the bed. Leo continued to sit on the edge, looking towards Corrin. The two sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts. A light breeze drifted in through the window, rustling Leo's hair. Corrin sat back up and smoothed it out. She glanced out the window before turning back to Leo.

"I guess it's gotten pretty late huh?" Corrin commented. Leo hummed in agreement without turning his head. "You can go if you want, but if you don't mind… I'd like you to stay with me a little longer. What do you say? Willing to indulge your selfish older sister? It's been a while since we've stayed up late like this. I kind of missed it honestly." Leo laughed.

"I suppose it has, hasn't it? I'll stay. Can't leave and make my sister sad after all. The others would have my head." Leo smirked. Corrin rolled her eyes.

"Oh, so you'll stay because you have to, not because you want to."

"Don't mistake me. Of course I want to stay. This is our last day together in this fortress after all. Better make it memorable." Leo gave her a smile, a real one. One she doesn't often see, but when she does it makes her day. Makes it memorable…

"Alright, then what do you want to do? We could talk. We could read together?" Corrin suggested things, but wasn't sure what Leo would want to do. Reading was usually a safe bet, but it could be hard to tell what he wanted sometimes. Besides, reading together was something they did often, so it might not be very memorable.

"Tempting, but no reading tonight. We do that often enough already." Leo went silent, lost in thought.

"Why don't you tell me what it's like to stargaze? We never got to when you tried to sneak me out after all. I got to see that shooting star, but that was all. Just that was an amazing experience, so I can't imagine what it's really like," Corrin suggested. Leo's eyes lit up, like they did whenever he thought of something cool he could do with a new spell.

"Hmm. I don't do things like that often, but I suppose I could try. Here; lay back and I can try to show what it's like." Leo gently pushed on her shoulder to get her to lay back. She complied, but there wasn't enough room for him, so he lightly nudged her and turned to prepare to lay back himself. She took the hint and scooted towards the edge of the bed so he could lie next to the wall. He lay down and with a wave of his hand, all the fires in the room were extinguished, leaving the room nearly pitch black.

"Leo?"

"I'm going to try a demonstration of sorts. It won't be completely accurate, but it should give you at least an idea what it's like," he explained in response to her confusion. A magical aura crackled through the air, making the hairs on Corrin's arms stand up straight. After a moment, tiny specks of light began to form erratically around the ceiling. After a short moment, less than ten seconds, they began to solidify into small balls of light, each the size of the tip of a quill. The very faint light they gave off revealed an outline of Leo with his hand raised in some slow motion to control the lights.

It wasn't perfect, the lights revealed bits of ceiling above them and the corners of objects in the room, but to Corrin it was surreal. The brief time she had seen the real night sky was manifesting itself right there in her room. She let out an awed gasp.

"Leo this is amazing! Why did I never ask you to do this before?" she whispered.

"Honestly I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Such simple magic, but I suppose it does have its uses for things like this, doesn't it? I don't use light very often." His response was as quiet as hers. He seemed surprised himself, like he had finally found a use for magic he previously thought useless.

The room was beginning to get cold with the fires out. The cold northern air had a way of chilling the bones when there was no source of warmth around. Corrin was beginning to shiver, but she didn't want to say anything. The sight before her was so amazing she was willing to deal with the cold for a little while. Leo, ever-observant, noticed right away.

"It's getting a bit cold, isn't it?" he commented as he created a shooting star with a lazy flick of his finger. He couldn't help the small smile on his face. He could create his own night sky if he wished; the thought amused him to no end. Corrin let out a small gasp upon seeing the shooting star.

"I don't mind… Don't put the fire back on yet. I want to see this for just a little longer if I can. Being cold for a little while is a small price to pay."

Leo rolled his eyes and slowly sat up. Corrin moved to stop him, but realized what he was doing when he grabbed the blanket at their feet. Corrin settled back down and Leo laid back, pulling the blanket over them.

"You don't need a fire to stay warm sister. Blankets help with that too." Leo went back to staring at the small stars he created. Corrin didn't respond. Instead she continued to look at Leo's outline in the faint light of his "stars". He looked content. Not overly happy or excited, but it was enough to make Corrin smile. Usually he was so serious; seeing him so laid back and having fun with his magic was a nice change. She turned back to her ceiling in time to see two of the little lights spinning around each other, almost akin to dancing.

"Leo, real stars don't do that," Corrin laughed. "Or do they?" Leo shook his head.

"No, they don't. I wanted to experiment with what I can do with these lights. You'll get a nice light show in the process, is that fine?" Corrin nodded in response. Leo began motioning with his hand and the lights reacted immediately, pulsing and moving closer to each other before separating, almost to a rhythm. Adding a second hand, Leo pulled all the lights together before bursting them out to scatter and fall, resembling those so-called "fireworks" that Corrin had read about. She gasped in delight.

As though reading her mind, Leo pulled the lights back and burst them again, this time alternating their color. Once he got the hang of it, Corrin had a mini firework show of her very own going on right in her bedroom. The only things missing were the loud bang and the burning smell that were supposed to come with fireworks, but Corrin didn't mind. The lights themselves were spectacular enough; they formed many different patterns in all sorts of colors. Eventually Leo lowered one hand and lazily flicked the other around, floating a small speck of red light around the room as though it were a leaf floating in the wind.

Even though it was now only one light, Corrin was still mesmerized and couldn't take her gaze away from it. She followed it as it flitted down to the fireplace, out the window, to the door, and finally moved slowly towards her. The light came to a stop next to her before it fizzled out, leaving her looking directly at Leo. His soft smile slowly morphed into a small smirk. Corrin looked away in embarrassment.

"You couldn't look away could you? I could have kept your attention on that light and you wouldn't have noticed anything else in the room," Leo teased. Corrin let out a huff.

"It was beautiful Leo," she quietly admitted. "I think the real thing will be ruined for me now."

"Well you'll be able to find out yourself after tomorrow. If you're right then we'll just have to do this regularly won't we?" Leo suggested. Corrin turned back to him and grinned.

"I'm not opposed to that idea. I want to do this again even if the real stars amaze me. Those fireworks you made were incredible!" she exclaimed. Leo sighed and shook his head.

"They were nothing compared to the real thing."

"Well now I definitely want to see them."

"I'll have to take you to a Nohrian festival then, they always have them there. Or maybe even Cyrkensia. Besides, you've always wanted to see a festival right?" It was more a statement than a question, but Corrin nodded enthusiastically.

"Now I'm too excited! I'm not going to be able to sleep any time soon," Corrin laughed.

"Then don't. If you know you can't sleep, there's no point in trying. Trust me, I would know."

"You have trouble sleeping?" Corrin asked in surprise. Leo sighed and averted his eyes.

"Yes I do. I oversleep and have to get ready in a rush sometimes. It's why…" he trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud.

"That explains a lot," Corrin laughed. Leo let out a loud huff. "Hey, everyone has their quirks. It's endearing."

"It's embarrassing."

They both went quiet, lost in thought for a short while. Their eyes were beginning to get used to the near pitch darkness in the room. What little moonlight filtered through the window allowed the two to at least see each other's faces. It was eerily silent outside, as usual. The sound of their breathing was almost deafening in the silence.

"Why do you have trouble sleeping?" Corrin broke the silence, curiosity getting the best of her. Leo looked uncertain; like he didn't want to answer that question.

"I just have a lot on my mind I suppose," he responded. "I think and overthink and sometimes I just can't sleep because of it." His gaze focused on the dark ceiling above them.

"What kinds of things do you think about? You're so smart I have a hard time thinking what could trouble you like that." Corrin's curiosity showed in her quiet voice. Leo didn't answer right away and his gaze stayed on the ceiling.

"It's a lot of different things I suppose." He let out a sigh. A quick glance to his side told him Corrin wasn't going to let him leave it at that. He debated with himself whether to make something up or answer honestly. Corrin was quite… gullible was a good way to put it, so he was sure he could come up with something. He didn't want to lie to her though. "It's mostly worry. Sometimes I'm thinking about strategy and how to improve my magic, but if I really can't sleep it's because I'm worried about something. Something outside my control." His answer was a bit vague, but completely honest.

"Even my smart little brother worries too much about things huh?" Corrin hummed in contemplation. "I don't know if I can help, but you can always tell me if you're worried about something. I'll do my best! Sometimes just an ear to listen can help."

"It's not something I like to talk about."

"Then you really need someone to listen. It's good to get things off your chest! I can keep a secret. Let me help you; it's only fair after all you've done for me," Corrin insisted. Leo considered for a moment before responding.

"It's a lot of different things…" He trailed of. An encouraging look from Corrin prompted him to continue. "I wonder if father will ever be proud of me, even though big brother is so much better with swords." Leo paused here to gauge her reaction. She stayed silent, clearly intent on just listening for the time being. She seemed as though she wouldn't respond unless he asked for it. He resumed speaking: "I wonder if Camilla and Xander really care for me the way they do you and Elise." Corrin opened her mouth then to respond, but Leo continued speaking. Now that he'd started, Leo wanted to finish speaking his mind before Corrin tried to change it.

"I worry about you, so lonely in this fortress. I wonder if you will still care for me after learning the things I've done on father's orders…" He spoke softly, clearly ashamed, gazing toward the window. "I know that once you come to the castle, things will change. I hope that you'll be happy there. I don't know what I would do if we brought you there, only for you to be miserable and scared of us..." Leo spilled all his thoughts to a now shocked Corrin. Silence. Corrin just laid there staring at him, unsure how to respond. Leo rolled to face the wall, hiding his face. He didn't want Corrin to see the worry and shame slowly working its way over his face. Corrin was finally prompted to action by this. She scooted over and held him tightly, one arm around his waist and the other holding his head back against her chest.

"Leo I could never be afraid of you. I know you. I know the kind of person you are. I love you Leo, and nothing is going to change that. Now roll over so I can look at you properly. Look into my eyes and see that I'm telling the truth." She tugged gently on him, but he didn't budge. "Come on, I don't want this to turn into a sad night. Let your sister comfort you for once." He began to shift, so Corrin loosened her grip and let him turn to face her. Seeing her brother close to tears saddened Corrin.

"Sister… You're the only one who is like this with me you know. Whenever I would get upset, the others always left me alone." Leo let out a humorless laugh. "If you'd believe it, Odin is usually the one who would end up cheering me up with something completely random by accident." Corrin sighed and pulled him closer.

"You know, that might be because you tend to push people away when something bothers you. They love you just as much as they love me. They just think you prefer to be left alone because that's how you make it seem. Even I thought so for a long time." Leo knew what she said was absolutely correct. He confused even himself with what he wants sometimes.

"I'm a fool aren't I? I wanted us to have a fun and memorable night, but I've gone and ruined it." Leo didn't like the negative mood that was slowly enveloping them, so he decided to try and change the topic.

"Not at all. I've learned a bit about you I never knew before. And maybe I can still ease yours worries some." Corrin tilted his chin and looked directly into his eyes. "You are an amazing person Leo. You don't need to worry about what others think. You are so smart and talented; I would be just like you if I could. I like you the way you are. Don't ever change, okay?"

Leo's heart skipped a beat. He could always count on Corrin to be positive and accepting in any situation, couldn't he? He wasn't sure if it was because of the heart-to-heart they had, the closeness they currently shared, or just because he was tired, but Leo felt as though he could tell Corrin anything that night.

"Corrin…" Leo tore his gaze away and rested his forehead on her collarbone.

"Yes?"

"Can I tell you one more secret? One you will promise to forget and not hold against me after tonight? Can you promise me that you will still think the same of me, no matter what I say?" Leo knew he wasn't thinking straight, because he would never have considered telling her if he was. But it felt like the perfect time. He could finally get it off his chest and never worry about it again. If only she wouldn't think worse of him for it. Besides, there was always a secret hope in his heart that she might reciprocate, a hope he needed crushed if he wanted to be rid of this once and for all.

"Of course Leo," was her simple response. A short pause and a shaky breath. Leo slowly pulled away from her collar and looked her in the eye. He steeled himself and finally let his biggest secret out.

"I love you Corrin." From the whispery tone of his voice to the way his hand came up and gently brushed her cheek, she knew instantly what he really meant by that. Her heart skipped a beat before rapidly accelerating. Warmth spread through her body, and she could suddenly feel how fast his heart was beating as well. "I love you. And not in the way I'm supposed to…" – his unneeded elaboration.

"Leo, I-"

"You don't need to respond. I know it's wrong and I don't intend to do anything about it. I just needed to get this off my chest. It's been eating at me for so long now… I hope you'll still think of me as your precious little brother." Her silence prompts him to continue, no longer looking at her. He moved his hand away from her cheek as well, realizing the magnitude of what he'd just done. "I'm sorry. I probably never should have told you. I hope I haven't made you too uncomfortable. Gods I've really ruined the night haven't I? Maybe I should go." He moved to get up, but Corrin sat up with him and held his arm.

"No Leo. Please stay. You haven't ruined the night. I just… I didn't expect that," Corrin babbled out quickly without thinking, desperate to prevent him from leaving. She knew if he left now, he would try so hard to avoid her.

"Of course not… Who would? Something like that is impossible, unacceptable. I don't know what came over me. This is something I never should have brought up. It is a secret I should have taken to my grave." Leo felt calm, too calm for the situation. But what could he do? The secret was out now and there was nothing he could do about it. All he could hope for was that Corrin didn't hate him for it.

"No. No, it's better this way." Corrin's response confused Leo, and it showed on his face. "You're very brave to tell me Leo. I never would have had that courage." Leo sighed.

"Honestly I don't know what came over me. I never would have told you if I'd been thinking normally. But now that it's out there, I can't go on pretending I never said anything. I love you Corrin, I have for a very long time," he admitted, finally looking at her again. "I've tried so hard to forget about these feelings and move on, but I couldn't. Every time I think I'm finally past it, I see you again and it just comes back."

"Leo… When did this start? How long has this been bothering you?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you." His response was quiet, and he dropped into silence for a few moments, thinking. "At first I thought it was just a childish crush and that I'd grow out of it. But it just kept growing stronger every time I came to visit. I think it really started to happen when I noticed how different you were from us though. Your red eyes, your ears, the color of your hair. I suppose a small part of me hoped that maybe we weren't really related, and that my feelings wouldn't be as forbidden as I thought. Being kept in the fortress like this, your situation is so strange I thought, just maybe. That was wishful thinking though. It doesn't excuse me from this sin. Whether you are my real sister or not, these feelings aren't going away."

Silence fell as Corrin tried to find a response. Leo grew uncomfortable and looked towards the window. It didn't feel right to look her in the eye anymore. Corrin took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. He flinched and almost pulled away, but stopped himself.

"Why are you hugging me? I know you want to make me feel better, but right now this will only make it worse Corrin. If I am to ever get over these feelings, I can't have you being so affectionate with me, no matter how nice it is…" Corrin's eyes widened in realization.

"Is this why you're always so quick to pull away from affection?" Leo didn't answer. "You're so different from me Leo. You've tried very hard to get past this haven't you? I've been so selfish." Corrin sighed sadly.

"You didn't know; there's no way you could have."

"That's not what I meant." Corrin took a deep breath. "I have a confession of my own to make. Leo, why do you think I've always tried to be so affectionate with you?"

"Because you're an affectionate person. It's just the way you are."

"I suppose… But that's not it Leo. Why do you think you're the one I seek out when something really bothers me? It's always you Leo. If it's something simple, I'll go to Camilla because she expects me to, but if it's really important I come to you. Look at me, please?" Corrin pulled back and Leo turned to face her. "This is hard for me to admit, as I'm sure it was for you, but Leo… I don't see you as a brother. I love you for being the person that you are. These feelings have plagued me for so long… but instead of trying to be a good princess and get past them like you, I've been stealing as much time with you as I can get. A small part of me always hoped that maybe I'd win you over. And even though I knew that was a terrible thought, I did it anyway."

Leo's eyes were huge and he almost forgot to breath. Now it was Corrin's turn to look down in shame, unable to meet his eyes.

"You're a much better person than I am," she whispered, tearing up. "Good sisters don't try to make their brothers fall in love with them." Leo broke. For once, he was the one to wrap Corrin in a hug.

"Corrin, you can't help what you do when you love someone. I didn't want to push you away, but I felt like I couldn't allow myself to be affectionate with you; I was worried what I might do, that I might give myself away." Leo slowly rubbed her back as she hiccupped and sobbed. She tried so hard not to, but she couldn't resist wrapping her arms around him. "I can't believe you've been battling the same feelings as me. I never would have guessed it. You did a very good job acting the part of the affectionate older sister." Leo almost laughed. Elation was slowly beginning to kick in for him, but it was mixed with fear. His older sister, the woman he loved with all his heart, loved him back. He didn't know what they would do.

"And you've done an amazing job playing the part of the solitary younger brother." Corrin actually did let out a laugh amidst her crying. "What are we going to do? I want so much more with you! But… it wouldn't be right." She wiped her eyes and looked straight into his. "I want to be more than just siblings Leo. I want it so badly."

"I know Corrin. I want it too. I don't know how we could though." His eyebrows furrowed and his mouth dropped to a small frown. "No doubt we'd have to keep it a secret, especially from Father. We could never tell anyone. I don't want to subject you to a life of secrecy; I want you to be able to enjoy yourself outside the fortress and not worry about things like this." Corrin sighed and leaned forward, resting her forehead against his.

"What do you want?"

"I'd enjoy myself far more with you by my side, secrecy or not. I'm used to secrets. If you don't want that though, I will respect your wishes. We can forget this ever happened." Leo stared into her eyes, his hand coming up to rest on her cheek.

"No, I never could." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "You wanted to make this a memorable night. I doubt I could ever forget it now." A short pause. "We will have to be careful."

"Hm?"

"If we want to make this work."

"So you want to try then?" Leo smiled, a real smile. Warmth shot through Corrin, mixed with happiness.

"I would regret it if we didn't," she responded.

"I would too." Leo's thumb rubbed against her cheek with a mind of its own.

"So that's it then? This is really happening?" A hint of excitement found its way into Corrin's voice.

"I guess it is. Best keep up those 'solitary brother' and 'affectionate sister' acts hadn't we? It's a good thing we've practiced for so long. We can't have anyone getting suspicious because we act differently around each other." Leo's other hand found its way into her hair and played lightly with her headband. Corrin moved one of her own hands to the top of his neck and gently played with the hair there.

"It's a nice change, you being this affectionate." Corrin abruptly changed the topic as the thought came to her mind. A small blush rose up on Leo's cheeks.

"I've always wanted too… It just felt wrong before," he answered honestly.

"I'm going to get to see a different side of you when we're alone together from now on, aren't I?" Corrin giggled.

"Yes you are dear sister. I hope you're prepared." His grin gave him away a second before he snatched Corrin's headband, but she was too slow to react. He sat up straight and held her headband above his head. She feebly tried to reach for it. "Now, you can have this back once you promise me you won't act any differently around me than you used to around the others. We can't have anyone getting suspicious." Corrin laughed.

"Of course, 'dear brother,'" she mocked him. "Now give that back!" She lunged for the headband, but Leo caught her around the waist. She was stopped at eye level with him, and a blush began forming on her cheeks. Even with how dark the room was, she could see the expression on his face. He looked happier than she had ever seen him before. His eyes were half lidded, and he was looking at her with the cutest shy smile she had ever seen.

Corrin brought the arms reaching for her headband down and rested them on his shoulders. In response, he lowered his own and set the headband back into her hair. His hand lingered for a moment before moving to the back of her head. Pulling her ever so slightly closer, Leo unconsciously leaned his head just a little closer to hers.

"Corrin… I know this is going to be hard, but know that I will be with you every step of the way. If you ever feel overwhelmed by any of this, please tell me." Even with how happy he looked, Corrin could still see uncertainty in his eyes.

"I should be telling you that. I'm the older one." Corrin grinned. "We're in this together Leo. Don't worry, if anything ever comes up, you'll be the first to know." His uncertainty faded as she rested her palm against his warm cheek.

"Together it is."

Leo gently tugged her closer, but stopped himself when he realized he was staring at her lips. Corrin didn't miss the gesture however, and moved a little closer herself. Both were uncertain what to do from here. Leo mentally argued with himself about whether Corrin would want a kiss while Corrin debated if Leo was ready for it. This resulted in both of them leaning forward and retreating at different times, uncertainty clear on both faces. Corrin realized what was happening and began to laugh.

"What is it?" Leo asked.

"Look at us. We both decide we want to be romantically involved, and yet we can't even kiss each other. This is going to take some time, isn't it?" She smiled and rested her forehead on his shoulder.

"Well, we have been holding back for so long. We're bound to hit a few bumps." Leo let out a small laugh of his own before pressing his lips to Corrin's hair. "We'll take baby steps, okay?" Corrin pulled back and looked at him.

"Sure."

Leo couldn't resist the radiant smile on her face. He tugged her closer and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. A light giggle encouraged him. He continued, gently kissing her cheek and her nose. The prince stared straight into her eyes and hovered his lips over hers, giving her a moment to pull away if she wasn't ready. She responded by pressing her soft smile into his.

Almost instantly Leo wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling her close. Corrin echoed his motions. Neither of them was really sure how they should kiss, so it was mostly an awkward bump of the lips. They didn't care though; to them they were kissing the person they loved, a person they thought they could never be with in such a way.

"Tomorrow is going to be hard…"

"I know. No going back now though. This is a burden we will share for the rest of our lives. As for the castle… As I said before, I will do everything in my power to help you out when you need it and keep you happy. We're in this together."

"I love you, Leo."

"I love you too, Corrin. I'll see you when we get up to leave."

One last gentle kiss and Leo was off, headed to his own room. Corrin lay back down and sighed. Judging from the moon's position outside, she would only be able to get a few hours of sleep before she had to be up. She had no regrets though; this would be one of the most memorable nights of her life. Tomorrow she was off, free from her prison to finally see what life has to offer. And she'd be exploring it with the person most important to her.

* * *

**A/N: I'd like to fix this up to be better, I know it's a bit off in some places. So if you have any feedback or criticism on what works/doesn't, don't hold back!**


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